What You Need to Know About Title Examinations

Preparations for closing involve several preliminary steps, including arranging for a home inspection, financing, preparation of legal documents, and scheduling a closing date. Most people only buy or sell real estate a few times in their lives, and it’s important that they hire professionals that they can trust, and who are available to assist them and answer their questions every step of the way!

Fortunately, the vast majority of real estate transactions prove to be free of complications; however, it pays to prepare for the unexpected. At First National Title Company, we’re proud to be a leading provider of title services (including title searches) in Arkansas, and our highly experienced team of real estate closing professionals is ready to serve you.

Performing a thorough title examination is one of the most important parts of preparing for closing, for several reasons. Whenever property changes hands, you have to confirm that the seller is the sole owner of the property, and there are no title defects (commonly referred to as “title clouds”). If the property owner owes back taxes, child support, or homeowner’s association dues, legal liens can be filed against the title, and they must be resolved before the property can be sold. In some cases, surprise heirs can show up with a legitimate claim to the property, especially when a property owner didn’t leave a will.

Fraud is sometimes a factor, particularly when it comes to obtaining signatures on legal documents. And even honest clerical errors like typos or delinquent paperwork can delay a real estate transaction if not caught in time. We also highly recommend making an investment in title insurance to protect yourself from having to pay unexpected legal expenses out of your own pocket in the event of a title dispute.

Our team at First National Title has hundreds of years of combined experience with title examination and research, closing/escrow services, and we’re ready to put our experience to work for you!. We’re continuing to expand throughout Arkansas to better serve our clients, and every member of our team is committed to 100% customer satisfaction!

If you have any questions about an upcoming real estate transaction, or would like to schedule a confidential no-obligation consultation, click here to contact us, or call us at any of our 13 convenient Arkansas locations listed below!